FOSTER INDEPENDENCE

By: Carmen Willingsteachingvisuallyimpaired.com

Independent living skills are the activities people perform, according to their abilities, which enable them to manage their homes and personal lives. The development of independent living skills are important to all students and particularly with students who are blind and visually impaired. These skills are not only important for their home life but help prepare them for any future work experiences. Remember the skills and knowledge that sighted students acquire by casual and incidental observation and interaction with their environment, are often difficult, if not impossible, for students that are blind or visually impaired. The students need direct and sequential instruction to master these skills.

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Independent living skills include grooming, eating, preparing meals, taking care of household chores, money management and time management, and so forth. Some independent living skills are addressed in the standard core curriculum, but traditional classes in home economics and family life are not enough to meet the learning needs of most students with visual impairments. The student may need specific instruction in personal hygiene, eating, dressing, clothing care, food preparation, housekeeping, basic home repair, money identification and management, use of telephone and information, use of desk tools, time and calendar activities, shopping, restaurant etiquette, community skills, and knowledge and use of community services.

Students who are blind or visually impaired, particularly those with additional disabilities or those who are younger, require much one-on-one attention from staff. It is important for adults to find the balance between assisting the student and creating a learned dependency. This page provides strategies that will help promote students responsibility and independence so they do not become dependent on others.

All students need to learn to manage their time, but this is an especially important skill for students with visual impairments and particularly for students who are blind. Students will need to have a structured schedule in order to anticipate events and know daytime activities from nighttime activities. This page provides strategies and suggestions teaching students skills in identifying and managing time.

Learning personal hygiene and independence in grooming are important skills for all students to learn. These are equally important for students who are blind or visually impaired. It may take students longer to master these skills but it is essential to encourage independence and avoid the urge to do the task for them in a rush to complete the activity. This page provides suggestions and strategies in helping the student groom themselves independently and use good hygiene.

Learning independence in dressing are important skills for students who are blind or visually impaired. It may take students longer to master this skill but it is essential to encourage independence and avoid the urge to do the task for them in a rush to complete the activity. This page provides strategies in helping the student dress themselves independently and manage their clothes including organizing their closets and drawers and identifying clothing.

Mealtime can be a struggle for many students, but can provide unique challenges to students with visual impairments. Although it may be easier and possibly neater to feed the student or to provide extra assistance, it is not appropriate when the student has the ability to feed themselves. This page provides strategies in developing independence at mealtimes.

Learning skills in the area of housekeeping and food preparation will help the students to become the most contributing members of their homes. It is also a great way to learn responsibility! Sorting, matching, reading labels, measuring, and many other skills can be naturally embedded into these experiences. This page provides more suggestions on adaptations to food preparation as well as housekeeping adaptations.

Developing shopping and budgeting skills are important life skills for developing independence. This page provides strategies and suggestions in teaching students skills in shopping and budgeting skills.

Learning
skills in the area of food preparation will help the students to become
the most contributing members of their homes. It is also a great way to
learn responsibility! Sorting, matching, reading labels, measuring, and
many other skills can be naturally embedded into these experiences. This page provides strategies and suggestions in teaching students skills in food preparation.

There are strategies and tools available to help the student who is blind or visually impaired learn to identify money. This page provides guidelines on helping students identify money as well as commercially available materials and apps for identifying money.